Gas-holder.



I No. 865,480. PATENTED SEPT. 10, 1907.

G. E. CROSBY. GAS HOLDER,

APPLIOATION FILED APR.11.19( )7.

PATENT, OFFICE.

GEORGE E.- CROSBY, or ALLSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

GAS-HOLDER.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. CRosBY, a citizen ofthe United States,residing at.Allston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inGas-Holders, of i which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings, which form a partthereof.

The invention relates to gas holders and more particularly to thatclassthereofemploying a bell and tank and a water seal therebetween. j

The main object of the invention is to provide a tank and bell .whereinthe water'in the water seal or seals between the tank and the'bell, orbetween adjoining bell sections, will, during the winter season, beprevented from freezing by means of an apparatus which may beeconomically installed, maintained and operated:

A further object is to provides tank and bell wherein the water'seals,during the winter season, will not only .20

have the temperature of the water therein raised and g maintained abovethe freezing point, but will have a' substantially constantsupply offresh flowing water of a temperature higher tharr the freezing point,discharged thereinto.

A still further object is to provide the water seals of a bell and tankwith a feed water supply system which will automatically adapt itself tothe change in the alti- '-tude ofthe hell or hell sections A stillfurther object is to provide a feed water supply system which willutilize the exhaust steam from .the power :plant,'or other part of theproducer plant, for

' heating thefeed water prior to its discharge into the lation of warmwater in each water-seal thus causing the constant agitation or flow ofwater to aid in prevent-. 340

ing the formation of ice.

A still further object is to providein'a bell and tank gas holder, afeed water system which will not only thebell. And a still furtherobject is to provide a bell cause the various water seals to overflow,but will also impart a rotary impulse to the water contained in eachseal in a'manner to cause i tto;flow continuously about and tank gasholder wherein the various: appliances supplying water to the waterseals will be so positioned and arranged as to notobstruct thejtscentand descen of the bells,-or be disarrange'd thereby. v The inventionconsists primarily in a gas holder embodying in combination a--tank, abell, a water seal be? tween said tank and said bell, and means wherebywatr-may be constantly discharged into said seal to set up a continuouscirculation of water therein; and in Specification of Letters Patent.Application fil d April 11,1907. Serial N0- 367|665| =ume of wateraccumulated therein.

Patented Sept. 10, 1907.

such other novel features'of construction and combination of parts asare hereinafter set forthand described and moreparticularlypointedout inthe claims hereto appended. I l

Referring to the drawings: Figure l' is a side el'evation of a gasholderand feed water-system for the water seals embodying my invention; one ofthe seals between adjoining bell sections being shown in section Fig. 2is a cross section of a water seal betweenlthe bell sections on a largerscale; Fig'."3 -is a plan view partly in elevation and partly-in sectionofa part of one of the said water seals on a larger scale, and-Fig. .lisa plan view of a part of the water sealbetween the tank an adjoiningbell section on alarge scale.

Like letters 'referto likep'arts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment of my invention shown iii the drawings, I haveindicated ata, a tank of ordinaryconstruction in connection with whichare shown three interlockirrgbell sections, b, c and d, also of theusual construction and arrangement, which are inclosed bysuitable bracedguide pillars e. The tank a is provided with a suitable overflow outlet,as a, to limit the vol- Between the tank a and the lowermost bell, b,and ,80' between the adjoining bell sections is what is termed a waterseal. Between the adjoining bell sections each seal comprises a trough fformed about the lower part of the bellsection by meansof the outwardlyand upwardly turned bottom plates, and of a penderit flange g formedbyflthe inwardly and downwardly turned top plates of thebell sections;and between the tank sand the bell b the water itself constitutes theseal, the sides of the top of the tank and of the bottom of the bell' bbeing substantially straight, a construction and arrange- 9,0 ment whichis now in general use.

The tank-a being normally filled with water, the space between the tankand its bell is consequently I filled with water, thereby constituting aseal. The trough f is filled with watei'r'n wlficlithhfiange g is sosubmerged as to form-a perfectly gas tight joint between these parts,-when they become interlocked as hereinafter stated. The dimensions ofthe trough and the. distancelof the flange from the hell are such astoafford the clearance necessary to make the deviceo perative, 10(' thuscausing said trough to always carry a considerable volume of water. I

It is essential for the water seal to be always free,

and to avoid the freezing of the water therein various \expedientshave-heretofore been adopted. To .keep y the water at a desiredtemperature by the most approved of these expedients," it hasheretoforobeeu found necessary to maintain separate boilers, thus 7resulting in considerable expense. To obviate this expense, and at thesame time effectively prevent the freezing of the water in the troughs,I provide a feed water system which, during the cold weather, may beused to constantly .lischarge water into each Water seal, thus settingup a constant circulation of Water .and utilizing to a certain extentthe principle that flowingwaters do not readily freeze.

Preferably, how ever, I supplement this with heating means whereby thewater being constantly placed in circulation, is brought to atemperature which will preclude its freezing, and at the same time raisethe temperature 0f=the water contained in the trough to a point abovefreezing. This system comprises a force pump h, the inlet h of which isin communication, preferably through a feed water heater 1' and pipes t,i" and i with the interior of the tank o the pipe 7? extending to apoint near the ,bottom of said tank. The outlet 12 of said pump is inconnection with a stand pipe I; by. the pipe The pump h is driven fromany source of power, as the engine It.

The feed water heater is of the usual and well known constructionembodying a closed casing. In the interest of economy, however, I couplethe heater i to a second feed-water heater l with the pipe Z, whichlleatcl supplies the boiler, and causes the exhaust steam to passthrough said heaters successively. It not being requisite for the waterpassing through the heater i to be brought to a very high temperature totit it for use I cause the steam to pass through it last, thus heatingthe feed water for the water seals, by what would otherwise be a wastesteam, and at thisame time partially or totally condense said steam.After the steam has passed through the heater 1' it may be dischargedinto the open, or into a condcnscr M, as desired. Encircling the topouter edge of the tank a. and of each bell, b and c, excepting thetopmost bell, such having no seal at the top thcrcof, I extend a pipe n,n and n disposed about the water seal and having a plurality of jetnozzles 0 extending over the top olthe 'turned portion of the plateforming the flange g and over the top of the tank a, and directed andprojecting diagonally downwardly into the water or just under thesurface thereof, all such nozzles in a trough being given the samedirection. The volume of water passing through the nozzles is regulatedby the valves 0.

iy positioning said pipes 71' on the curve of the top edge and withinthe edge of the bell proper they are readily accessible, are convenientfor the arrangement of the nozzle 0 and are notin the way of the bellsor tanks as the same rise and fall.

Each pipe. n and n is connected with a nozzle 1), p", u-spcctively, ofthe stand pipe I; by a flexible hose s and s", which are of a sufficientlength to permit; the nccc sary range of movement of the bells I], c.The pipe n is rigidly connected with a nozzle p of the stand pipe L.\\'liilc the nozzles o are carried by the bells 'a iljaccnt to thcpcndciit flange 1 they are nevertheless always properly posiiioucd \vhcnthe seal is formed by the trough f and said flanges. The stand pipe ismay be stlpportcd in any desired manner, clamps k mounted on one oftl;-.- standards 1: being preferably em ployed.

'lhc opt-ration of thc l'icrctofore described tank and roll. gas holder,or gasomcter, is substantially as follows: The tankiu is normally tilledwith water, the supply tin-roof being rcplcnisl-red byrain, or meltedsnow.

the rcquirelnents of the use of the apparatus.

When the water contained in the tank reaches the highest desired level,any excess is carried away through thedrain'u. It will thus'beobserve-dthat there is always a sut'licient supply ofwatcr in said tank. Beforethe bulls are filled with gas, and as the volumcof the gas thereincontained diminishes, the sections I), c,

tioned within the greatest; diameter of thcirrespective bell sections b,r: pass freely within the tank a and bcll I; respectivt-ly. it will thusbe seen that the operation of my lecd water system for the watcrseal tobe described hereinafter, is not intcrl'cred with by this movement ofthe hell or bell sections of the gasoincter. As the bell sections l, 4..b ascend in the order named, the trough is tilled with water from thetank a and interlocks with the danger forming a sinuous channel, theelbow of which is filled with water, in the usual manner. to form thewater seal. In cold weather the water is apt to freeze. and to avoidsuch, the feed water heater i is put in circuit with the boiler feedwater heater 1 and the pump it started drawing water from the tank athrough the pipe i to thc feed water heater i where it is heated by theexhaust steam passing through said heater, and through the pipe ito thepump. It is then forced through the pipe j to the stand pipe 1;, andthrough the nozzles p, p, F thereof and the connections 3, s. 3" to thepipes nun/(n The nozzles o of each said pipe, discharge the water at adownward angle into the watcr seal in a plurality of small, strong jetswhich sets up a circulation of water, more or less rapid. about eachbell section. This constant movement of the water will. in itself. tendto avoidthe formation of ice, but the heating of the water maintains thecntiro volume of water in the trough at a temperature whithprecludcsanypossibilityof its fret lug. Thejctsof freshlyh atcd water, inaddition to setting up a local circulation as described, mix this waterthoroughly with that already in the trough. This constant discharge ofwater into the' troughs cause them. to ovcrflow, but this 'ovcrilowmerely passes from trough to trough or to the tank (i, thus setting up ageneral circulation of watt-r from the tank, to the pump, to the troughand back to the tank (1. Thus it. will be seen that the water isalwayschanging either in a local or in a general circulative syst m andadditionally. that freshly heated water is being constantly dischargedinto the water seals which; by rea son of theii cxposed position and thesmall volume of water therein, are most likely to freeze. it will alsobe observed that my entire heating system is maintained without addedcost of maintenance, thus insuring great economy, tests havingdemonstrated that the cost of llltlll'lftlllllK'tHJi mysystem is but 5%of that of ordinary systems, with as high a degree of cilicicncy, undersimilar conditions.

The use of waste steam has been found satis actory as it is notnecessary to raise the teitipcrature of the water to a high degrge, anda secondary hcutcr meets all It is not my intention to limit theinvention to the details of construction heretofore referred to andshown in the drawings, it being apparcn t that such may be variedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to haveprotected by Letters Patent is:

1. A gas bolder embodying in combination a tank, a bell, a water sealbetween said tank and said bell, means whereby water may be dischargedinto said seal means constantly forcing water through said firstmentioned means to said seal, to set up a continuous circulation ofwater therein and connections between said last mentioned means and asource of water supply.

2. A gas holder embodying in combination a tank, 1!. hell, :1 water sealbetween said tank and said bell, means whereby water may be dischargedinto said seal, means constantly forcing water through said firstmentioned means to said seal to set up a continuous circulation of warmwater therein, a water heater, and connections between said heater andsaid last mentioned means, and a source of water supply respectively.

:2. A gas holder embodying in combination :1 tank, a lull. and a waterseal between said tank and said bell, and a feed water system comprisinga distributing pipe discharging into the surface water otthat in saidseal whereby water therefrom will set up a surface circulation in saidseal. a force pump and pipes between said pump and said distributingpipe, and between said pump and a SOlli'P-r of supply.

4. A gas bolder embodying in combination a tank, a telescopic bell and apluraliiy of water seals between said tank and the lowermost section ofsaid'bell and helwccn adjoining sections of said hell, and u feed watersystem comprising a stand pipe, :1 distributing pipe carried by saidtank. and bysaid bell sections adjacent to and discharging into thesurface water of that in each said water seal, a suitable pipeconnection between said stand pipe and each said distributing pipe, aforce pump, and pipes between said pump and said stand pipe, and betweensaid pump and a source of supply.

5. A gas holder embodying in combination a tank, a

bell and a water seal between said tank and said bell, and a feed watersystem comprising a distributing pipe discharging into said water seal,a feed water heater, means whereby exhaust steam is passed.through saidheater, a pipe between said heater and a source of water supply, a forcepump and pipes between said, pump and said feed water healer and betweensaid pump and said distributing pipe. I G. A gas holder embodying incombination a tank, a bell and a water seal between said tank and saidbell, and a feed water system comprising a distributing pipe discharginginto said water seal, a boiler feed water heater, a water. seal feedwater heater, means whereby exhaust steam is passed successively throughsaid boiler feed water heater and said water seal feed water heater, apipe between said water seal feed water heater and a source of watersnpply,'-u force pump and pipes between said pump and said'ieed waterheater, and between said pump and said distributing pipe.

7. A gas holder comprising in combination a tank, a bell and a waterseal between said tank and said bell and a feed water system comprisinga distributing pipe discharging into said seal, a force pump, and pipesbetween said pump and said distributing pipe and between said pump andsaid tank. 7

8. A gas holder comprising in combination a tank, a bell and a wat'prsenl between said tank and said bell, and a feed water system comprisinga distributing pipe, :1 discharge nozzle therefor directed at an acuteangle into said seal, a force pump, and pipes between said pump and saiddistributir ig pipe, and between said pump and a source of water suplpy.

9. A gas holder comprising in combination a tank, a bell and a waterseal between said tank and said hell, and a feed water'system comprisinga distributing pipe encircling said tank about the outer top edgethereof, and having a plurality of jet nozzles disposed about said waterseal and directed diagonally downwardly into said seal, all atsubstantially the same angle, and in the same'direction, a force pumpand pipes between said pumps and said distributing pump, and betweensaid pump and a source of water supply. I

10. A gas .holder comprising in combination a tank, a telescopic bell,and a plurality of water senlsbetween said tank and the lowermostsection of said bell and between adjoining sections of said bell, and afeed water system comprising a stand pipe, n distributing pipeencircling said tank and each said bell sections about the outer topedge thereof adjacent to the water seal and having a plurality of jetnozzles disposed about said seal and directed diagbnally downwardly intosaid seal, all at substantially the same angle and in the somedirection, suitable connections between said stand pipe and saiddistributing pipes respectively, a feed water heater, 9. pump and pipeconnections between said heater and said tank, and between said pump andsaid stand pipe.

11. A gas holder embodying in combination a tank. a bell and a waterseal between said tank and said hell, and a feed water system comprisinga distributing pipe discharging into said water seal, a closed feedwater heater, means wheueby exhaust steam is passed through saidheater,,a pipe between said heater and a, source of water supply, aforce pump and pipes between said pump and said feed water heater, andbetween said pump and said distributing. pipe.

12. A gas holder embodying in combination a tank, a bell and a waterseal between said tank and sold bell, and a feed water system comprisinga distributing pipe discharging into said water seal, a. closed feedwater heater, means whereby exhaust steam is passed throfigh saidheater, a pipe between said heater and a source of water supply, a forcepump'and pipes between said pump and said feed water heater, and betweensaid pump and said distributing pipe, and a condenser,

In witness whereof, I have hereunto uflixed my signature this fifth dayof April, 1907, in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE E. CROSBY. Witnesses:

N. L. FROTHINGHAAL. A. A. ASHMAN.

